Again, April core retail sales were revised up to show a 0.3% rise, compared with an initial read that showed a 0.1% fall.

"Total May sales were boosted by a 1.4% rise in autos, signalled by the unit sales data last week, as well as a 1.1% jump in the building materials component," Ian Shepherdson at Pantheon Macroeconomics wrote in a note to clients.

"Our measure of core sales, which excludes autos, gasoline and food, rose a modest 0.2%, but Q2 as a whole is headed for a 7%-plus annualized gain, restoring sales growth to trend after the weather-afflicted 0.3% Q1 increase."